`Yes. But you're forgetting one thing,' Hadley pointed out. `We're dealing, in some fashion with a madman. It's useless to deny that this hat-thief is mixed up in it. Whether he, killed Philip Driscoll or not, he seems to have put that hat on his head. Now, from what Dalrye said, it's clear that Driscoll was on the hat-man's track pretty closely..’
`But, good God, man! You can't seriously suggest that this fellow killed Philip because Philip found out who he was! That's absurd.'
`Quite. But worth looking into. Therefore, what's our obvious move?'
Sir William's hooded eyelids drooped. `I see. Philip was turning in regular, copy to his newspaper. One of his articles appeared to-day, in the morning edition. That means he turned it in last night. And if he went to the office, he may have told his editor something…?'
`Precisely. That's our first line of inquiry. If by any wild chance his agitation to-day was caused by some sort of threat, it would probably have been sent to the office; or at least he might have mentioned it there. It's worth trying.!
'Rubbish,' said Dr Fell. I
`Indeed?' said the chief inspector, with heavy politeness. `Would you mind telling us why?'
The doctor made a capacious gesture. `Hadley, you know your own game, Heaven knows. But you don't know the newspaper business. I, for my sins, do. Did you ever hear the story of the cub reporter whose first assignment was to cover a big Pacifist meeting in the West End? Well, he came back with a doleful face. "Where's your story?" says thee news editor. "I couldn't get one," says the cub; "there wasn't any meeting." "No meeting?" says the news editor. "Why not?" "Well," says' the cub, "the first speaker had no sooner got started than somebody threw a brick at him. And then Lord Dinwiddie fell through the bass drum, and a fight started all around the platform, and they began hitting each other over the head with the chairs, and when I saw the Black Maria at the door I knew there wouldn't be any more meeting, so I left."'
Dr Fell shook his head sadly. `That's the sort of picture you're drawing, Hadley. Man, don't you see that if Driscoll had found out anything, or particularly been threatened, it would have been NEWS? News in capitals, "HAT FIEND THREATENS DAILY SOMETHING' MAN." Certainly he'd have mentioned it at the office. Rest assured you'd have seen it to-day on the first page.'
`He mightn't,' Hadley said, irritably, `if he had been as nervous as he seems to have been.'